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Lot Essay
Philippe Poirié, maître in 1765.
La Colombe, which translates to Dove in English, was designed and built by François Joseph Bélanger (1744–1818) in 1769 for Jean André de Vassal de Saint-Hubert. La Colombe was a gift to his mistress, Marie Catherine Ruggieri, the celebrated demi-mondaine and actress of the Comédie italienne, whose stage name was Mademoiselle Colombe.
The pavilion was restored after World War I by the American expatriate novelist Edith Wharton (1862-1937) who purchased the property in 1919 along with much of the original contents. They apparently remained when Nathan Wildenstein purchased La Colombe and also included the Fragonard portrait L'amour and lots 44, 58, 333 and 339 sold in the Wildenstein Collection at Christie’s, London, 14-15 December 2005.
Too little is known about the life and the career of Philippe Poirié. Praised for being particularly aware of the new trends and fashions of the time (G. Janneau, Les ateliers d'ébéniste et de menuisiers aux XVIIe et XVIIe siècles, Paris, 1975). Philippe Poirié is celebrated for the quality of the sculpture of his creations, as it is also seen on the seat-furniture given by Madame Boursin to the Louvre in 1913 (Inv. OA 6655 et foll.)
La Colombe, which translates to Dove in English, was designed and built by François Joseph Bélanger (1744–1818) in 1769 for Jean André de Vassal de Saint-Hubert. La Colombe was a gift to his mistress, Marie Catherine Ruggieri, the celebrated demi-mondaine and actress of the Comédie italienne, whose stage name was Mademoiselle Colombe.
The pavilion was restored after World War I by the American expatriate novelist Edith Wharton (1862-1937) who purchased the property in 1919 along with much of the original contents. They apparently remained when Nathan Wildenstein purchased La Colombe and also included the Fragonard portrait L'amour and lots 44, 58, 333 and 339 sold in the Wildenstein Collection at Christie’s, London, 14-15 December 2005.
Too little is known about the life and the career of Philippe Poirié. Praised for being particularly aware of the new trends and fashions of the time (G. Janneau, Les ateliers d'ébéniste et de menuisiers aux XVIIe et XVIIe siècles, Paris, 1975). Philippe Poirié is celebrated for the quality of the sculpture of his creations, as it is also seen on the seat-furniture given by Madame Boursin to the Louvre in 1913 (Inv. OA 6655 et foll.)